In My Opinion
by Chibi PsychoRaenef
Summary: Ginny has an idea for some extra moolah. She plans to set up a quasi sike-oh-low-jee practice in order to earn some extra Sickles. Patients? Draco (of course), Blaise, Colin, Harry, and some featured guests. Rated (so far) for language and implications
1. Prologue

A/N: Wow, this took a while to get up. Although, it probably didn't help that I haven't had a working computer for over two months. . So anyways, on with the show!  
  
Disclaimer: I own...none of this story. The plot, okay, I probably helped with that a leetle bit, but the humor (wait, there's humor? I'm getting out of here.) is mostly taken from various cartoon series and/or other fanfiction. The "original" characters are mostly taken from/based on anime/cartoon characters, and they've probably retained their original names where possible. The other characters were created by—what was her name again?—that really important person, whom everyone should hail as goddess. Yeah, that sounds about right.  
  
In My Opinion  
  
Prologue  
  
"Get up, Weasley. Those filthy, tattered robes of yours are so saturated with...filth that if any more dirt were to gather upon the—," here, he delicately wrinkled his nose, "—fabric, it would surely disintegrate." Throughout this lengthy insult, which was rather poorly constructed for someone of his experience, the haughty Draco Malfoy had maintained a well- rehearsed smirk upon his extraordinarily pale face. As expected, a twelve- year-old mouse—sorry—a mousy-looking twelve-year-old displayed his Gryffindor bravery by stepping up to the defense of his housemate, who was currently huddled against the wall of the corridor after having walking into Malfoy, which had resulted in a verbal barrage.  
  
"You astound me with your ability to insult those who are younger than yourself. Perhaps you've been paying your way into nurseries so that you can play 'wid da ickle babies' and displaying your amazing aptitude for verbal offenses," spat Colin Creevey, the aforementioned mouse.  
  
Malfoy appeared to stagger backwards from the force of his words—is this what they call a verbal attack? However, since Malfoys never give up any ground, one must recall that he only gave the appearance of doing so. (One exception to this rule occurs when Malfoy calls a retreat during Hermione's verbal and physical onslaught, which involves the phrase, "You foul, little cockroach!" But that occurs later on in the school year and in the parallel universe of the movies.)  
  
"Creevey, need I remind you that when you are addressing me, or speaking of me, you must incorporate the use of the name 'Malfoy' with a snide tone that indicates the disgust you feel from pronouncing my name. Speaking of pronunciation, you may say either 'Mal-foh-ee' or 'Mal-fwoi'. Either is acceptable—the former being the Anglicized version of the latter, which is the original name in all its French splendour."  
  
By this time, Creevey had already helped Ginny Weasley stand up and reach the other end of the corridor, and it seemed that Malfoy had wasted his breath. And yet, Malfoys never waste their breath; the effect of Draco's words was clearly visible in Ginny's reaction:  
  
"That, that, that Malfoy," she sputtered, employing the required tone, "seems to take some sort of—pleasure from rubbing others the wrong way. I don't exactly ha—intensely dislike him, but he does irk me—a lot." (A/N: "Hte" is a bad word. Use "intensely dislike" or something similar as a euphemism whenever possible.)  
  
Ginny then thanked Creevey for his wonderful display of true Gryffindor loyalty, and they became fast friends after that incident.  
  
As for the relationship between Ginny Weasley and Draco Malfoy, well, there was clearly no love lost between them.  
  
_--Fin du Prologue--_


	2. Ch 1: Old School Eloquence

Disclaimer: Watchu lookin' at? I don't own none of this, ya hear? If you recognise it, then it's probably not mine; if you don't recognise it, it still might not be mine. jkjk…Haha, get it? jkJK Rowling? The Sibyl to whom we should attribute all descriptions and chronicles of the events in the world of…dundundun…Harry Potter. However, since gusts of wind may have disturbed and jumbled the order of her words, this humble novice at writing will attempt to put forth an accurate account of the episodes in the life of one Ginevra Weasley.

A/N: This chapter commences at some point during the beginning of Ginny's third year, i.e. HP's, RW's, HG's, and Draco's fourth year. There will be occasional references to events recorded in the scrolls of Ms. Rowling the Sibyl, but it will mostly be un-canon.

In My Opinion

Chapter 1: Old School Eloquence

"Mum, I can go to Hogsmeade this year, right?

"Of course, Ginny dear, just let me finish cooking breakfast for Ron, who has somehow managed to sleep until 4 in the afternoon even though his two best friends are arriving within the hour, and I'll sign that permission slip for you. Your father looks to be too busy with his Muggle toys."

"Thanks much, Mum. By the way, I thought up a good occupation for myself. It's going to be my way of contributing towards the family income, Every Hogsmeade weekend, I'm going to set up my own booth near Honeydukes' where I can be a, a sike—sike-oh—sick-oh…Daddy, what was it called?"

"Hmm, this little puhlg-y-wotsit seems to fit into this let-out-thingy…What was that, Ginny? Oh right, a sike-oh-low-jist. Fantastic idea. Imagine curing mental illnesses by therapeutical methods that employ verbal communication and interaction. Fascinating."

"Right…One of those. Anyways, I'm going to ask Hermione for books on the study of the human mind—she's guaranteed to have some—I'll need to read up on the subject before approaching it…with caution, of course."

"Now am I aware of wherefore the fiery-headed maiden doth keep in her chamber many an article and tome regarding her precious Sir Harry." Having just entered the kitchen, Ron bid his parents good morning in a poetic fashion before continuing his monologue. "Now do I understand the reason for the 'lady' (Here, he donned a sneer at which a certain platinum-haired being would have smirked.) Ginevra's docile silence in the presence of Sir Harry despite her constant chatter in the lack thereof."

Ginny began to snicker. "Tome? Docile? Dearest Ronniekins (Her smirk was far superior and better practiced compared to Ron's feeble attempt at a sneer.), since when have you developed such an extensive vocabulary?" She tapped her forehead in mock thought. Ron's ears began to steam as his face, the sneer having long ago departed from it, quickly "tomato-ed" with rage. Yet, his diction remained quite clear, and his speech rather eloquent, as he formulated his rebuttal, "Lady, I beseech thee to refrain from making a mockery of this innocent victim. Thou art most aware of the method behind my apparent madness, for it was thou who didst bestow this accursed form of speech upon my lips, didst thee not?"

"Dear brother of mine, this guilty heart that dost beateth within my chest beareth no intention of replying thy accusation with a denial. For the record, prithee exhibit thy evidence to our audience." She swept out her hand to encompass the rest of their family, and Hermione, who had just flooed in through the fireplace. Upon noticing the spectators, Ron began to sputter like a locomotive running out of steam. This may have been due to the presence of the last individual listed, but it may also have been due to the fact that the potion had been designed to last for two hours. The unfortunate redhead slumped down in the nearest chair, leaving everyone stunned into silence for two whole seconds.

The Burrow shook with the waves of laughter that erupted from everyone in the cozy abode. Ron was trying to seek further shelter for his wounded pride when the twins rushed over to him and began to quote Shakespeare from their Muggle Studies course. A grinning Hermione questioned Ginny as to how she had accomplished this particularly amusing practical joke. After enjoying a brief respite, Molly and Arthur Weasley resumed their respective tasks of cooking breakfast and fiddling with a "letout". Bill and Charlie staggered back to their rooms, leaning on each other for support as they clutched their sides in agony. Percy returned to his default somberness after an uncharacteristically raucous burst of laughter, and he ascended the stairs with most of his former dignity. The only trace of his mirth was the shine in his eyes from the tears that had gathered there.

"It was quite simple, really," began Ginny as Hermione sank into the bliss of learning. "My original recipe only required a size 1 cauldron. I wanted to see if I could create a potion that could be sprayed on a person instead of having to be forced down that person's throat. Therefore, I needed to dilute it in order to make sure it wasn't too concentrated. If I had used the size 1 cauldron with the ingredients in the correct proportions with the new adjustment in strength, the quantities would have had to be so miniscule that the margin of error would have been too great. Thus, I decided to go with a size 3. This also left room for any disturbing of the meniscus and upper fluids should my stirring be too vigorous." Hermione snorted, as Ginny was renowned for splashing potentially dangerous mixtures all over her surrounding environment. The various holes and burns in her floor and her possessions attested that fact. Oblivious to, or choosing to ignore, Hermione's reaction, Ginny continued, "However, in order to ensure that the potion would remain suspended in the excess water—and neither settle to the bottom nor rise to the top, both of which would prevent an equal distribution—I added three finely chopped basil leaves and one shredded sprig of holly, stripped of its berries, of course."

"Ginny, you're a genius! I mean, basil has soothing powers that would soften the impact and lessen the sting of a sprayed potion, while holly has adhesive powers to physically bond the potion to the water molecules. The chemical reactions that create the original potion would create chemical bonds between the holly and the potion. How did you ever think of such a thing?"

"Like you said, I'm a genius. Actually, you left out part of the explanation. The holly berries need to be stripped off because not only are they poisonous but they also affect the flow of chakra. It is not a generally known fact that chakra is the key force in spreading the effects of a potion throughout a body. That is why ninjas, who can manipulate their chakra flow, are capable of controlling their own reactions to potions. Some ninjas can even completely stem their flow and cut off the circulation of chakra without affecting their other bodily functions; in this way, they can restrict the potion to only affect the point, or points, of contact. Returning to the topic of poison, I designed this method of potion-spray to be anti-poison. The basil can counter the effect of the wormwood and rhubarb (A/N: Disgusting stuff, that.) found in most common poisons, making the 'poison' harmless. Without the basil, the poison would not be dense enough in relation to the water, and it would rise to the top of the bottle. The spray tube always draws potion from the bottom of the vial. I still need to figure out how to counter the possibility of using this method to created spray-bottles of rarer poisons, though. Oh yeah, and the reason for why I sprayed Ron with this particular potion? He's the least eloquent of my brothers, so I expected the results to be most evident in him. Also, he's been the test subject of Fred and George the most often of all of us, so one more substance wouldn't hurt him."

Both girls laughed then began to discuss the finer parts of the "Old School Eloquence" Potion.

- Here's an explanation for some events in _Goblet of Fire_. Just so that I can keep up the image of sticking to the books. - -

An hour later, Mr. Weasley and the twins returned with Harry in tow. Of course, Harry had preceded the other three in flooing the The Burrow, because Mr. Weasley had had to clean up after the twins, who had managed to slip Dursley a Ton-Tongue Toffee.

Having greeted Bill and Charlie, who were still grinning from Ron's monologues (but Harry didn't know that), Harry turned to look at an anxious Mr. Weasley emerging from the fireplace and threatening the twins with telling Mrs. Weasley of their escapade. The said Mrs. Weasley emerged from the kitchen and bestowed her awesome glare onto the three unfortunate Weasley males. Ignoring this common occurrence, Harry turned to look at Ron, Hermione, and…wait, was that…Ginny? Failing to notice the slight tinge of pink on the others' faces, Harry was astonished to find that Ginny was…blushing? It must be because of his presence, he thought.

Ginny's face was still scarlet with amusement over the stunt she had pulled earlier. Whatever would Harry have thought if he had heard Ron using archaic words? As she followed her mother into the living room, the aforementioned Harry Potter was standing there, trying to ignore the falling-out stewing around him. He raised his mop of black hair to stare at the newcomers, in particular, at Ginny. Ginny quickly ducked her head in a vain effort to keep from snorting. Her shoulders shaking from the endeavor, she made to follow the Golden Trio upstairs when Hermione suggested that they show Harry where he was sleeping. She was finally able to release her laughter when the subject of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes was broached.

- Refer to _Goblet of Fire_ for account of Quidditch World Cup. Authoress too lazy to reorder Sibyl's scroll for this part of the timeline. - -

"Hermione! Question!" Ginny's loud voice carried through the house. She was free to speak as Harry was off somewhere with Ron…doing something.

With an exasperated sigh, Hermione reluctantly put down the latest edition of _Hogwarts: A History_. "Yes, Ginny? What do you want this time? You've already pillaged my potions ingredients, my potions apparatus, my previous charms textbooks, and my muggle studies notes."

"I'm not trying to snatch your precious academic belongings from you this time, I promise! See, I have this idea for something I can do while in Hogsmeade. I haven't had time to tell you, what with the Quidditch World Cup and the Deatheater attack--, " here, Hermione cringed, "and everything, but I want to set up a sike-oh-low-jist's booth. So I was wondering if I could borrow some of your books on sike-oh-low-jee…You could just owl your parents for them or something…I'd even lend you Pig…"

"Sike-oh-low-jee? What's that?"

Ginny gasped. Hermione had uttered a sentence that one would never expect to slip from her lips. Was the world coming to an end? She took a deep breath and slowly began explaining what it was, as if she were talking to a small child. "Well, it's the study of the human mind, you know, when you explore how your head works and why you do what you do, and why you say what you say. There's a reason for everything you say and do, and it can be figured out by seeing how your brain helps you interpret what's going on around you."

Hermione listened to all this with rapt attention, and her eyes began to glaze over and glisten brilliantly with four-point stars in them as she clasped her hands beneath her chin and began to drift onto a pink, flowery background with her hair being gently blown behind her by an invisible breeze, à la une shoujo anime ou manga. Suddenly, she woke from her reverie with a start.

"Oh! You mean _psychology_!"

"Is that how you say it? Hmph, Daddy taught me incorrectly, yet again! Anyways, do you have any books on the subject? I kind of need to read up on it before I can practice it."

"Practice it? Whatever do you mean?"

Ginny quickly explained her plans for the coming year. Hermione unhesitatingly agreed to help.

The coming school year certainly promised to be interesting.

_--Fin du Chapitre 1--_

Next Chapter: Return to Hogwarts!

A/N: Hope y'all liked it. I promise to try and update this more quickly than it took for me to update from the prologue to chapter 1. Yeah, half a year probably isn't a very good habit. X D


	3. Ch 2: Return to Hogwarts!

Disclaimer: Don't own 'em.

A/N: I started out wanting to keep this fic mostly in canon with the actual books, but as I thought out the plot (ha!), I realized that focusing on Draco and Ginny while trying to keep most of the lines spoken by their fellow students, especially by the Troublesome Three, would be rather difficult. Therefore, you may recognize a line here and there, but it may appear to be in a completely different context. Several major and not-so-major events have been altered, possibly, so don't mind that either. The Triwizard Tournament will be mentioned occasionally, but certainly not to the extent that J.K. Rowling describes it.

In My Opinion

Chapter 2: Return to Hogwarts!

It was raining. Ugh. Ginny _loathed_ the rain. In this respect, she was similar to a cat. Hmm...What other cat-like characteristics did this little vixen (A/N: I am aware that a vixen is more closely related to a dog) possess? Well, she did make Ron pay for reading her diaries (yes, she had more than one by now). It was rather astonishing that she had decided to continue keeping a diary even after the Chamber of Secrets incident, but once she had gotten over the lack of a thoughtful response from her (still magical) diaries, she was able to vent her day-to-day frustration using her beloved pen and paper.

She retained multiple diaries as a precaution against raids on her bedroom by her many brothers. By now, she had fully analyzed the personality of each brother, and she was able to determine which "hiding place" each one would suspect and target. Therefore, she composed a special diary for each hiding place, the contents of which would be most easily understood by and most shock that particular brother.

It may have been a completely unnecessary and pointless undertaking, but being the only girl of her age in St. Ottery Catchpole did not provide much amusement for her summer. So far, the only brother who hadn't "found" her diary was Percy, but he was a stuck-up twit who would never stoop to hunting down her diary. Also, a certain former Ravenclaw prefect held all of his attention. Yes, he was indeed still dating that obnoxious Penelope Clearwater. Over the past two years, the Weasleys had been forced to listen to his insufferable prattling about her virtues and wonderful attributes. Merlin, she hoped that she would never develop into that sort of infatuated moron. That would be _terrible_ for Ron to suffer. On second thought...

"What's he been up to now?" Bill was asking about something or other. Ginny snapped back to the present world and asked, "Who? What? Who's been up to what?"

"Mad-Eye Moody and we were just about to find out." George rolled his eyes at Ginny's confused look exasperatedly. "Honestly, Ginny, sometimes you have the attention span of a gnat. Hold on, change that to 'you definitely have the attention span of a gnat.'" Ignoring Ginny's indignant huff, he continued, "Isn't he that nutter--"

"Your father thinks very highly of Mad-Eye Moody," sniffed Mrs. Weasley.

"Yeah, well, Dad collects plugs, doesn't he?" The twins had corrected Mr. Weasley's incorrect name for the blasted rubber-and-metal Muggle items before the excursion to the Dursleys' to kidnap, no, pick up Harry.

Her other family members continued to discuss the eccentric Mad-Eye Moody while Ginny yet again drifted into her own world...

Before she realized it, she was on board the Hogwarts Express and waiting to depart from platform nine and three-quarters. She sat two compartments away from the Famous Four--Crookshanks really should be included--because she really didn't want her thoughts to be interrupted by the usual "Hello? Earth to Ginny?"

Of course, leave it to the Big, Bad Draco Malfoy to stir up Ron's temper so that she was still able to hear their argument. You'd think he'd learned to be prudent enough to ignore Malfoy's jabs. Oh wait, no, you wouldn't. Listening more closely to the contents of their discussion, Ginny discerned a few unusual facts.

First off, Lucius Malfoy had wanted to send Draco to Durmstrang? Drat, that would have been good riddance to bad rubbish. Tough luck.

Second, did Narcissa Malfoy actually love her son that much that she wanted to keep him near? Or maybe she wanted him to stay close to home so that he didn't get carried off with the notion of marrying a girl from far away? Ginny snorted. Imagine, Malfoy being so infatuated (that was her new favorite word) that he was determined to elope with a random girl at Durmstrang of all places.

Third, and most importantly, Hogwarts was going to be hosting some kind of competition, with a considerable and presumably monetary reward. Ginny knew that it was too much to ask that the requisites would allow her to enter. However, she hoped that someone from Gryffindor would be able to win. That would certainly show the Slytherins some what-what. Shaking off that unexpected use of an American phrase, Ginny resumed her pondering, only to be interrupted yet again by the rapidly approaching laughter of what seemed to be Malfoy and his cronies.

"So anyways, there I was, displaying my fantastic talents with a broom--," Ginny snickered at how _wrong_ that sounded, "And even Ludo Bagman was induced to praise me, just as everyone else does. I mean, honestly, who could deny the ability of one as gifted as myself? After all, I am the richest, cleverest, handsomest," Ginny yawned, already bored. The door to the compartment slid open as the three Slytherins entered. Or rather, the Slytherin Prince entered, followed by his two subservient minions. Malfoy continued to chatter, boasting of his "wonderfulness" to Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. They sat down across from Ginny, (unknowingly or purposefully?) oblivious to her presence.

Ginny was in no way offended, having expected this behavior, and she was rather entertained by the predominantly one-sided banter taking place in front of her. As she listened more carefully to the "conversation," or more accurately, "soliloquy," she noticed a trend. Whenever Malfoy faltered in his speech, either stumbling over his words or failing to recall yet another "stunning characteristic" of his, he would send one of his cronies to purchase some victuals from the snack trolley. Inevitably, there came a time when he was left alone, having stuttered and consequently been forced to send Crabbe for some Pumpkin Pasties while Goyle was still drooling over the never-ending mound of Chocolate Frogs.

To Ginny's amusement, Malfoy began muttering to _himself_: "Well, really, it was nothing at all. It's not like I'm not fluent in Japanese and Mandarin Chinese in addition to French, Italian, Spanish, German, and Russian. After all, the Malfoy business is an international enterprise, requiring contacts in many different nations. Such dealings are only facilitated by a personal knowledge of the language, thus preventing the cost of interpreters, despite how negligible said cost would be, and also any secret communication between the men on the other side of the business table. Yes indeed, if one must get a job done, it is better to do it oneself, and information and knowledge is a surefire path to success..."

As his train of thought dwindled off, Ginny saw the young Malfoy undergoing what seemed to be an internal struggle. At a loss for what next to say, he looked to be pondering sending himself to the snack trolley. Ginny had yet to see a person command himself in such a manner. At length, Malfoy finally looked around the compartment and seemed almost surprised to see that he was sharing a compartment with Ginny Weasley, of all people.

Sputtering, Malfoy grasped for insults, finally coming up with, "Well, well, well, look who it is. The Weaslette, all forlorn and defenseless. Egads! I'm breathing the same air as you are! I do hope cooties aren't borne by the air, for then I'd have to thoroughly scrub myself to get rid of their taint." It was priceless, the look of surprise that adorned his face in response to Ginny's snort of laughter.

"Oh Malfoy, how the mighty have fallen. Goodness, did I just say 'mighty'? Were you ever? Or maybe it's only on account of my being your target, 'cause your eloquence seems perfectly functional around people like my brothers, and Harry, and Hermione."

If the previous look had been priceless, then Malfoy's current look of shock, accompanied by an adequate gasp, belonged on a pedestal. Crabbe and Goyle returned, laden with their spoils, to watch what appeared to be a staredown between the ferret and the weasel, with the latter clearly holding the upper hand.

"What, Malfoy, surprised I grew a backbone? Oh wait, I always had one! You, on the other hand, seem to have left your reference book, Insulting Helpless Innocents for Dummies, at home. You should try a packing list next time; they're supposed to help."

Malfoy muttered something.

"Say what? Dear Draco, didn't Mummy ever tell you to 'say it loud and say it proud'?"

"I said, the book's actually called The Idiot's Guide to Properly Offending Others." And with a pout belying his inherent Malfoyishness (and causing Ginny's insides to flip-flop in a not-altogether-unpleasant manner, it might be noted), he continued, "Besides, my mummy never speaks in such a crude fashion, except when using her favorite saying: 'If you can't say something mean, then there's something seriously wrong with you.' It's her way of mocking that dreadful line from that absolutely foolish woodland creature in that Mudblood animated feature...what was it again...?"

Despite the line being twisted almost beyond recognition, Ginny correctly identified it...with sparkles in her eyes, as she recalled the adorable Thumper from Walt Disney's _Bambi_: "If you can't say somethin' nice, then don't say nothin' at all." For Malfoy's benefit, she even cast her eyes shyly towards the ground, twisting her foot around and wringing her hands behind her back.

Unfortunately, the Golden Trio chose to walk into the compartment at this point, and having been talking too loudly (have they no shame?) to hear any of Ginny's and Draco's exchange, they naturally jumped to conclusions (it wasn't very far) and assumed the worst. Ron tackled Draco, pinning him to the seat and accusing him of threatening his sister and also of every other wrong under the sun that Ron had suffered during his four years at Hogwarts.

By pure fluke, Blaise Zabini, resident "art" expert at Hogwarts, entered upon the scene, looking for Malfoy. With a raised eyebrow, Blaise coolly regarded the compromising position in which Ron had placed himself and Malfoy.

"Hmm, that's funny. I'm generally accurate about such things, but I would never have placed you, Draco, as an 'uke.'"

The other males in the room looked at each other bemusedly as Ginny and Hermione burst into giggles. Having reached a tacit agreement with Hermione on their own sentiments concerning the issue, Ginny readjusted nonexistent pince-nez spectacles on the delicate bridge of her nose before responding.

"I'm afraid I'll have to disagree with you, Mr. Zabini. After conducting an extensive observation of Mr. Malfoy over the past few hours, I have reached the conclusion that his need to assert authority arises from a plaguing sense of insecurity caused by a minor inferiority complex. Due to this mental state, it would only be natural for him to be unable to adequately assume the dominant position in the act of consummating a relationship."

As the meaning of her words hit, there were quite a few gagging sounds made around the compartment. Being the quickest of mind, Harry shut his eyes, refusing to accept the mental image, while Malfoy struggled to escape from Ron's iron grip. Said grip quickly loosened as soon as its owner was keeled over by a wave of understanding. Crabbe and Goyle remained oblivious; the vocabulary was too sophisticated, and no one wanted to risk the potential consequences of explaining their boss's ahem preferences to the two hulking pseudo-trolls.

"Attention, all passengers. The train will be arriving shortly at its destination. Please change into your school robes and be ready to exit the train within the next half an hour."

Following this announcement over the train's PA system, students rushed to and fro to quickly grab the required school robes from the compartments inhabited by their respective trunks. Before everyone left to follow the example set by his fellow schoolmates, Ginny announced her plans for the year--setting up a psychologist's booth in Hogsmeade. There were mixed results.

"WHAT! Ginny, you'll have to deal with every Bob Joe and Mary Sue who just happens to be walking through town. And what if people like Mal--," Suddenly, Ron realized that said ferret was still in the vicinity and (surprise, surprise) lowered his voice accordingly. "What if prats like Malfoy start harassing you? Or you may even have dirty perverts like that Flint bastard--"

"Ron, please! This shouldn't be news to you; you were definitely present in the kitchen when I announced my plans to Mum and Daddy. Oh wait, that doesn't mean anything. Besides, you should know me well enough by now (after all, I am your only sister) to acknowledge my ability in protecting myself. I've begun researching how to set up wards so that the booth will only grant entrance to current Hogwarts students and staff members and possibly a select few that I will be able to specify. In fact, I was discussing the matter with Hermione the other day..."

"Herm, you can't honestly be allowing Ginny to do this. I mean, I'm not as dubious about the idea as Ron, but I'm not exactly overflowing with eager support for such a business venture."

"Well, I think that one should always attempt to learn more about one's fellow man. And if one should make a few Sickles in the process, then that's just jolly good, innit? Besides, I've helped her from the beginning. My mum was originally a double major in college--pre-med and psychology--so she had a few texts left over. It's wonderful that Ginny has already begun to dabble in her interests, unlike you, Harry, or you, Ron--," Hermione jabbed her finger into the chest of each boy as she named him while also ignoring their sputtered protests of "But--but--Quidditch--and--...--Quidditch?" and the Gryffindor genius continued, "--who just take things as they come and try to deal with problems that magically (no pun intended) arise. Could you honestly say that you would have tried to find something to do if there had been no Chamber of Secrets or Phil--," With a gasp of realization that she had revealed more than necessary, Hermione suddenly clammed up, not uttering another word.

Having raised one slender eyebrow at the "Mudblood's" words, Malfoy mused, "I, for one, think that it will be interesting to see what comes up. In fact, I may even deign to honor you with my presence, O lowly Weaslette. Hmm, that's a clever nickname. I do believe I'll store that away for future use. Ta-ta, it was an absolute UN-pleasure speaking with you. Hope to NOT see you around." Performing a flawless about-face, Malfoy whisked himself out of the compartment to his waiting robes.

It took them a while (about another five minutes), but Crabbe and Goyle were finally able to stop pondering the meaning of Zabini's previous statement, and they left as well. Years later, a candle would finally ignite above Crabbe's head as he realized that Zabini had been implying that Malfoy was homosexual...And his hair would promptly burst into flames, as the candle would only be literal. The mental processes of beings as handicapped in the thinking arena as Crabbe are not even worthy of being represented by a candle.

About to follow on the heels of his housemates, Zabini hesitated and spoke, "Ms. Weasley, I think that such an undertaking is a wise investment. Our beloved school is lacking in several things, one of which is professional, or at the very least, practised, counseling. Indeed, I would be willing to provide you with financial backing, should you require it. Could we meet to discuss the finer points of such a partnership in more...privacy...later?" This suggestion was met by the slight inclination of Ginny's head, and Zabini swept through the door.

"Ginny, what are you THINKING? Or ARE you thinking? Zabini could just want to mock you, or maul you, or mol-mol-MOLEST you! You're bloody insane, I swear." Ron shook his head sadly and continued, "Young people these days. When I was your age," Hermione interrupted his reminiscing by trying to knock some sense into his head with the heel of her palm.

"Could you just let your sister trust her own judgment for once? Lord, I mean, Merlin knows that she's much smarter than you are, or could ever hope to be..."

Everyone silently counted, _One...Two...Three..._

"Oi, I resent that!" The members of his audience rolled their eyes while scattering to change into their robes before the train arrived at its destination.

Ten minutes later, the students disembarked from the Hogwarts Express and quickly dispersed to either find a horseless carriage or follow the rather large adult who was shouting, "Firs'-years! Firs'-years! Righ' this way, foller me, please!"

"Hey Hagrid! How's it goin'?"

Hagrid waved back at Harry and co., a huge grin materializing on his face. Malfoy groaned in disgust.

"How can someone possibly be happy if they're dirt poor, live in a house five times too small for comfort, and are butt ugly on top of all that? Oh wait, look at the Weasleys." An unbecoming sneer adorned the pale, pointed face of the speaker.

Ginny sighed sadly, "Malfoy, if you want to insult people, then at least employ proper grammar in doing so. Since 'someone' is the subject of your sentence, then the secondary clause should maintain the parallelism in number and use the subject 'he,' not 'they.' Honestly, some people are just so lacking in the mental department, in spite of all their material wealth."

Tossing her flaming hair, she strutted away--well, as much of a strut as she could manage while lugging her massive trunk behind her. The gaping faces of the fourth-years--Gryffindors and Slytherins included--only added to the flounce in her step.

"Well, that was certainly unexpected...And I can't believe someone was faster than I was in correcting a fellow human being!"

With that, Hermione followed her friend to the nearest horseless carriage, followed shortly by Harry and Ron.

"Did she just--Was I just--What just--Huh?"

"It's okay, Draco. According to Miss Weasley's explanation, it's understandable that you might have some difficulties verbalizing if you are that lacking. Perfectly comprehensible."

Blaise patted his friend on the shoulder as he said this and turned to Nicholas Staggleby, who had just walked up to the crowd.

"Hey Nicholas, could you go put these trunks in a carriage? I need to assist our dear Draco in walking..."

"Stop that, Blaise! I learned how to walk ages ago. Oh wait, that's not what I meant--" Draco sputtered as everyone around him burst into raucous laughter.

Shaking their heads sadly at the Slytherin prince whose reputation was quickly failing, the Slytherin fourth-years climbed into their respective carriages and headed off to Hogwarts with the rest of the students.

This was going to be an interesting year.

_--Fin du Chapitre 2--_

A/N: Feel free to mention anything that may sound familiar. Virtual dumplings to those who correctly identify any of my references! And that goes for all of my chapters.


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